The Halloween Kids (TV Movie)
The Halloween Kids is a Canadian Halloween special that aired in 1999. It was produced by Decode Entertainment, Savage Studios, The Corning/Emerson Group and Studio B Productions under license to Scholastic and distributed by Alliance Atlantis. It aired on Fox Family in the US and Family in Canada. The film is based on the first entry in the Halloween Gang book series. Elliot Strange took temporary residence in Halifax to oversee the project. Plot The film starts with a philosopher gem in an office. A mysterious figure steals it and a magical entity is released from it. The entity attacks a bird in a cage and retreats into the woods, where the intro begins with shots around a town. It ends at a school, and we see Alison and Colleen presenting a school project. The project centers on a mythological creature they reportedly saw called a Stinamal, and how the town hero Royce might be connected to it. It receives underwhelming feedback, and mockery from the divas, Kelsey and Priscilla and the bullies, Dante, Devlin and Damien. Alison and Colleen do receive some defense from the wise Jenny and the nerds Sparky and Brighton, but it fails to go anywhere. The disfavor towards them furthers under the command of Tommy, who is a staunch advocate for Royce. Alison and Colleen get thrown into a trashcan and are knocked down the stairs. Both are disappointed that nobody believes them and decide to just go home. On the way though, they come across the creature and get wedgied onto tree branches, which further tears down their mood. Alison offers to cheer themselves off by spending the rest of the day doing what they enjoy doing. They start off by playing basketball at the park, but get into a match with the bullies and wind up losing their ball. The bullies soon encounter the monster. It the cuts to a young girl, Pamela, following her sister Jenny home. Jenny claims that she's going to a Halloween party and Pamela wants to go, but Jenny coldly tells her no since it's intended for older kids. Pamela keeps trying to convince her but is blown off completely. She retreats to the park to meet with a group of kids, giving them the gem she stole as part of an agreement where they would stop bullying her, but they reveal it was a trick and make off with the gem while shoving her into a trash can. We return to Alison, who has made spaghetti club sandwiches for herself and Colleen and the two watch cartoons. Suddenly, a news report plays, talking about how Dante, Devlin and Damien were shoved into a dumpster that was pushed down a hill and crashed into a pile of fertilizer. Alison and Colleen believe it has something to do with the Stinamal. It goes to a montage where their other classmates are going through similar fates. Sparky and Brighton have been hung by the mouths on a weather vane, Randall and Russell have been wedgied on the town's flagpole, Tiberius' pants were pulled down while he was playing football and he crashes into a crate of produce, Julie is flung into a book display and barfs on the principal's pants, Trent's pet spider's leg is busted, Sam crashes into a tree after something spooks her up close, Mandy gets spooked by an artificial liver thrown near her and wets herself, Jenny's mother finds a paintball gun she brought and gets into trouble over it and in a double take, a love letter Mariann wrote for Brad winds up in the hands of a group of bullies which embarrass the both of them. These fates have been evaluated by Royce, the town hero, and he assures everyone that they will be rectified. These occurrences are soon made known by Mayor Hubbard, who's learning that tourism rates are plummeting. He discovers that his gem is missing and recalls that the last person in his office was Pamela. He begins searching her room and after finding Pamela, scolds her for taking the gem. He takes her to go look for it, but is unsuccessful and abandons Pamela as a result. Soon, she encounters the Stinamal who kicks her flat into the woods. Back to Alison and Colleen, they're trying to warn the town of the Stinamal, which mostly works until Kelsey and Priscilla, yet to encounter the Stinamal, arrive to taunt the two. Tommy furthers their mockery and claims that they're responsible for what has happened to the kids. It leads to a heated argument and then a physical fight which Alison and Colleen get blamed for by Royce, who further disavows the Stinamal and reaffirms Tommy's claims. The two give up and simply go home, preparing for the worst Kelsey and Priscilla then encounter the Stinamal who steals their clothes and embarrasses them in front of the whole town. The other kids each have nightmares about the Stinamal, which lead to them running into the woods. They meet each other and begin to believe Alison and Colleen were right about the Stinamal, but their train of thought is cut short by the sound of someone's footsteps. They run away and get cornered, but soon learn that it's only Alison and Colleen. The kids apologize for not believing the two and want help in defeating the Stinamal, which they all agree to. Alison and Colleen suggest that they find a hideout to contemplate their next move. They find the hideout, in the form of an abandoned house by the playground and the kids start a campfire to ease their nerves. Alison and Colleen tell a campfire story centered on the Stinamal. The Stinamal's origins trace as far back as the 16th century, where a young boy terrorized his village and his vitriolic nature manifested into a beastly form. He has survived for many centuries by feasting on souls, doing so before midnight every Halloween. The story is cut short when the girls hear something and it turns out to be Rufus, the town's canine mascot. They consider keeping him with them for the night in case the Stinamal goes after him too. In the morning, the gang decide to report the Stinamal to the mayor, and upon getting to him they find he is only more than happy to help them. He reveals that the Stinamal has been kept under control, thanks to a gem that releases a hidden energy, but it has been stolen. The kids opt to look for it, but he's reluctant to because he doesn't want anyone to die under his watch and because he had no luck finding the gem himself. Sam opts to lead the search since she at least knows the woods better than anyone else, and he reluctantly agrees. The kids set out to the woods to look for the gem, and after searching well into the night, Rufus sniffs it out, but Royce takes it. The kids try to convince him to give the gem back, but he refuses. They bring up the gem belongs to the mayor and they want to return it to him, but he still refuses and resorts to taunting the kids. The kids then fight back and snatch the gem, but this angers Royce to the point that he transforms into a monster, revealing that he's the Stinamal. He tries to get the gem back, but the kids run and manage to lose him. The Stinamal begins terrorizing Trick-or-Treaters to lure the kids out, but they remain hidden until they could find a good opportunity to get to the mayor. They run for the office, but get caught by the Stinamal, who summons other people he cursed to be like him. Rufus is lured to the Stinamal to the kids' confusion and horror, and they learn that Rufus is also a monster like the others. The monsters attack the kids in an attempt to get the gem. The gem falls out of Alison's pocket after she's knocked to the ground, and the Stinamal prepares to smash it. Colleen manages to get it and it's tossed to the other kids. It lands in Jerry's hands, but he trips while still holding it. The Stinamal prepares to kill Jerry, but Ori leaps in front and gets her leg broken. She is saved by Jerry who helps her to the mayor. The kids manage to get the gem to the mayor's office, but are held back by the monsters. Just when all hope seems to be lost, the monsters begin to weaken, it's past midnight and the monsters begin to wither away. The gem is put into the stand and the monsters are absorbed into it, whilst the souls they've consumed get released. The kids see the spirit of Rufus leave its body, showing pure sorrow. The kids forgive Rufus before his spirit leaves forever and the kids grieve. Pamela and the mayor enter the office and the kids tell them the monsters have been defeated. Pamela gives a tearful apology for the trouble she has caused, and claims that she will wait until she's older to do what the older kids do. Jenny admits that if the gem was left untouched, the Stinamal would've still been an issue, as anyone could remove the gem and allow him to come back. The sisters make up with a hug. The gang decides to celebrate their victory by attending the town's annual Halloween party, but the mayor claims that the venue was destroyed by the Stinamal prior, leaving the kids disappointed. Alison and Colleen then come up with a way for the mayor to repay them. They bring up the abandoned house and he decides to let them keep the property since nobody has ever claimed it, and set up a private party for them. The kids are visited by Manfred, the last owner of Rufus, and they tell him that Rufus died. He explains that Royce helped Rufus years ago, and he had no idea that he would turn Rufus into one of his minions. To repay the kids for saving the town, he gives them another one of his dogs which they name Duke. The kids congratulate themselves on saving the town and decide to make their pact full-time. They decide to dedicate every Halloween to protecting the town from any mythological or paranormal threats. Characters * Alison: A spunky talkative girl and the leader of the Halloween Kids. She is knowledgeable on everything obscure or irrelevant to what's currently happening, with a varying payoff. Since she was the first to discover the club's first monster, she had leeway in becoming their leader. She wears shades frequently, implied to occur due to some kind of eye disorder. * Colleen: Alison's best friend and her second in command. She is somewhat shy, though she seems to always give a clever one-liner when she talks to anyone. * Tiberius: A "hit first, ask later" kind of kid. He delves right into action without a second thought, which is done due to him wanting to look tough and show a semblance of worth to the club. * Sparky and Brighton: Identical twin nerds. They try to rationalize everything with science, but get turned away on that. They often serve as plan conductors or bait. They persevere so they could remain part of the club. * Dante, Devlin and Damien: The school bullies. Dante is the milder of the three and always manages to come up with decent justifications for his misdeeds. Damien is the slower of the three and is more or less annoying. Devlin seems to have genuine contempt for the two and the rest of the world, which the club utilizes to maintain emotional balance. * Kelsey and Priscilla: The school divas. Kelsey maintains the diva facade because she fears she'd be treated poorly by everyone else, also spurred by low self-esteem and a sheltered childhood. Priscilla has a dry dialect and often tells people she hates to do stuff that led to the deaths of celebrities. * Jenny: Tries to serve as a voice of reason and often prides herself as having a higher moral compass, though she is cruel to her younger sister. * Randall and Russel: Brothers who do work for cash. They have higher work etiquette and are well-regarded students. Both of them find it difficult to get down and dirty and have fun because they rarely played in their earlier years. * Sam: A girl who's into magic and planting. It's implied that she's a Wiccan, but she just wants to live a normal life. * Julie: A goth punk girl who often takes the role of a contrarian, especially in life-or-death situations. This is spurred by a fear of her or any of her friends dying. She seems to be adamant in looking and acting cool because she was bullied in earlier years. * Ori: A perpetually naive girl who seems to be more aligned with Julie. She serves as the group's proverbial heart, and keeps it stable. Has a crush on Jerry. * Jerry: A gloomy boy who always comes up with chilling worse case scenarios, but deep down he seeks lasting friendship. Always comes up with a good strategy to avoid the worst outcome. * Flip: An African-American boy who's an expert on insect life and could come up with strategies in dealing with deadly creatures. * Mandy: A reserved tall student who seems to be an expert on the paranormal. She became so after going through a disturbing prank when she was younger. She rarely speaks, and when she does she gives dry quips. * Duke: The kids' shared dog, and their mascot. * Rufus: The town mascot. An old dog (claimed to be 10) whom the kids like. It's revealed that Rufus was granted immortality by the Stinamal and became a tragic minion. Rufus' soul was laid to rest after the Stinamal was defeated. * Pamela: Jenny's younger sister. Jenny is often mean to her, which is a vague means of trying to prevent Pamela from getting hurt and was also spurred by favoritism toward her. She is responsible for Stine's appearance in town, due to stealing her father's philosopher gem which kept Stine away. * Tommy: Another student who idolizes Royce. The other students have sided with him in the past as Alison and Colleen were considered too weird to associate with, but is later deserted when Alison and Colleen are proven right about the Stinamal. * Mayor Hubbard: The town mayor. A genuinely caring individual who wants to create and maintain a free but orderly environment. He tends to be hard on Jenny, which molded her cold attitude toward Pamela, but he only does it to toughen her up for the near future. * Royce (the Stinamal): Royce was the town hero, though everyone was unaware that he used his supernatural powers to bring himself to such an accolade. Royce is the legendary Stinamal, but he was unable to act because of the effects of a cursed gem. As a human, he was arrogant and mean to children, only acting nice when someone important was present. He turned his most devout followers into monsters like him, doing so for many centuries. He is eventually destroyed after failing to capture souls before midnight, and the return of the gem would prevent him from resurfacing ever again. Cast * Mae Whitman: Alison * Melissa Fahn: Colleen * Peter Kelamis: Sparky * David Paul Grove: Brighton * Matt Hill: Dante * Tony Sampson: Devlin * Daniel DeSanto: Damien * Chantal Strand: Kelsey * Stacey DePass: Priscilla * Alyson Court: Jenny * Ian James Corlett: Randall * Richard Ian Cox: Russell * Lee Tokar: Tiberius * Carrie Finlay: Sam * Lenore Zann: Julie * Sarah Gadon: Ori * Jason Burke: Flip * Brian Drummond: Jerry * Erin Fitzgerald: Mandy * Tracey Moore: Pamela * Terry Klassen: Stine * Roger Dunn: Mayor Hubbard * Samuel Vincent: Ms. Chapley * Robert Cait: Manfred Manley Manson * Gene Mack: Additional voices * Ellen Ray Hennessy: Additional voices * Tony Rosato: Additional voices * Peter Oldring: Additional voices Availability The film was reportedly only shown twice, both times on Halloween of 1999 in a back-to-back marathon. While it was a moderate success in Canada, it garnered some criticism for its overly-scary atmosphere, namely one of the kids' dogs getting killed and the often twisted imagery. It was never shown again since and has been considered a lost film. The film has garnered a cult following from those who saw it when it aired, and has been considered to be the animated equivalent to Cry Baby Lane. The film eventually resurfaced in 2015 after a Canadian Redditor posted a recording of the special on YouTube. The film's broadcast on Fox Family followed suit.